Newcomer's experience

Eleven Plus (11+) in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin

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bingo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 5:14 pm

Newcomer's experience

Post by bingo »

I have been following this forum for the past 9 months and have valued the advice,knowledge and experience bandied around here. I never felt the need to post as the majority of my questions/worries/anxieties could either be found or eased on the forums so I just lurked around taking it all in. Gratitude to all who posted, to the moderators and especially to those involved in the upkeep of the site.
Congratulations to all the DD/DS who had success in the exams. My DD got her first choice of Camp Hill and needless to say we (the parents) are overjoyed. Our thoughts go out to those that didn't get their wishes but as we again explained to our DD after taking the exam, we love you and will support you whatever happens and whatever you do in life. Most importantly we think you deserve this for yourself and the fact that we were willing to let you take the exam showed our faith in you but no matter what school you go to you will do well(these thoughts were reinforced during the whole 11 plus experience). We had already discussed that if our DD wasn't upto the standard we thought was needed, we weren't going to put her through the exam ordeal. The most painful part about not getting what we as parents or DS/DD want regards selective school choice is the hard work most of our 10 year olds put in to reach the required standard to gain a place. It's simply astounding and quite emotional but to then see only a fraction of them be successful is heartbreaking(I'm quite amazed to read on forums how some DS/DD didn't need to bother with any tuition/coaching).
Yes we did have tutoring but nothing extreme. Yes we did spend time with her nearly everyday during the run up to the exam. Yes we did buy Bonds books. Yes we did improve her vocabulary by using the wonderful advice found on here. Yes we did do Letts papers. Yes we did buy the 10 min verbal /non verbal/maths books. Yes we did cut down on her time spent with friends and doing the normal stuff 10 year olds do. Yes we did trawl the internet to find algebra/geometry/maths sites that made practice more interesting than sitting with us at the dining room table. Yes there were tears and tantrums but also joy, high fives and whoops of delight when the proverbial penny sank on new concepts.Yes we did reward her and treat her as often as possible in return! In fact it verged on blackmail at times!
We realised that our DD had something special about 18 months ago and we only started her 11 plus groundwork 6 months before the exam, although there were times we questioned whether we should have started the process sooner. She showed flair and resillience in that she picked up things very very quickly and our beliefs were backed up by school parent's evenings which highlighted that even though she was not the "brightest" pupil there she had determination to succeed and persistence which in conjunction with natural ability made her, in my opinion, an ideal candidate for the 11 plus.

I know people may think I'm only posting as my DD got into a selective school but I totally sympathise with DS/DD that didn't . The simple fact is that roughly only 1 in 8 (hope I'm right there) get through and again it's such a shame but that's how the education system works.
The most important thing is to support your children. You don't have to have a selective,fee paid or private school education to be successful in life. Sure it might help but by no means is it the be all and end all.

I shall be posting again soon regarding advice on to how to prepare DD for September, however I'm all worn out after my first post and apologies for the length!!
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Post by um »

Congratulations Bingo to you and your dd!

Thanks for posting your experience!

um
srk13
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:12 pm

Post by srk13 »

Congratulations Bingo & DD. Well done!!
tutor dad
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:31 pm
Location: birmingham

Post by tutor dad »

I am making my first comments, have been thru this site when I started panicking about 9 months ago.Lot of people gave lot of advice and the need to have multiple tutions, every one suggested the best tutor and what needs to be done.
Never realised how much work needed to be done.
I will post my own experience which may not suit everyone.My DS got in to KES(Did not get scholarship), Camp Hill,QMS WALSALL, will choose Camp Hill .
My DS was not the brightest in his school, the school teacher seemed a bit surprised that he did well.He was good at maths, poor in English.
The key factors are
1.The childs ability
2.Parents time avaliability(key)
3.Teaching skill of the parent.
Been to a few tutors for 2-3 weeks, probably left it a bit late, so may not have found the right one.Did not find one who knew what my sons strenghts/weakness was, can`t blame them as his school teacher didn`t know either.Felt totally frustrated and decided to do it my self as I knew his strengths/weakness.
Started around last school break in June, so nearly 6 months prep, 3-4 hours per week and that is all he could take.Given his poor english/comphrehension, concentrated on his strenghs Maths,non verbal.Did not leave english ,kept doing 3-4 papers every week, Bond/Letts./SIMS/11 plus tests/independant school test papers, any thing I could lay my hands on, did not matter which series, as I believe that the range, breadth and variety was key to being fully prepared for the exams.
My son was making the same pattern of mistakes which most tutors failed to pick up ,may be didn`t give them sufficent time.
So to be prepared, spend time reading anything, start early, don`t beileve that kids get in without hard work(may be if your kid is extraordinary)
If you find the right tutor excellent, otherwise will depend on your teaching skills and patience .
Well done to every one who got thru, does not mean they were all bright, but probably better prepared, that is how I see it.
Footballdad
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:20 pm

Post by Footballdad »

Well done bingo and tutor dad on your siblings obtaining your desired schools and excellent first posts to boot as well.
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